The Traveler
by EchoPhox
Summary: Regina wakes to find Storybrooke's saviour downstairs in the middle of the night, and although she's known the blonde for some time, she can't help but noting how different Emma is. You know this will be Swanqueen all the way.


Regina's eyes shot open in an instant, and with good reason. She'd heard shuffling downstairs, and a sliver of fear hit her before the anger that could only come from the former evil queen. How dare someone—anyone, have the audacity to enter her home? It had been a while since the curse had been broken, Pan was gone, and the town's most pressing concern was the woman who called herself the Snow Queen, but that's not to say it couldn't be another townsperson. She never fell short of enemies, and with her history she figured it could be any number of people downstairs. Still, she knew she had to move quickly, and her first priority was always Henry.

Giving it some more thought she came to the conclusion that it couldn't be him, he was staying with Emma at the Charming's place this weekend, and he never stopped by without letting her know beforehand. She thought about calling Emma, but that was silly, she had been handling things herself for years, and surely she was more capable than the blonde sheriff of handling whatever this situation was. She had certainly faced worse. Still, Regina's thumb hovered over Emma's name on her phone until her screen went black and she placed the device back on her nightstand. The blonde had proved to be helpful more times than Regina would like to admit, and what scared the brunette was wishing Emma would come, would instinctively know to be here when she needed her.

"No." Regina sat up and shook her head and the thought along with it.

Who in town would think breaking into her home would be a good idea? Even someone who was still upset over the curse would know she had her magic back. It might not be as powerful as it was in the Enchanted Forest, but it was still difficult to rival. She rose quietly to look at the clock on her nightstand, which clearly read that it was 2:37 in the morning. Whoever it was downstairs was going to wish they had never stepped foot on Mifflin street.

The adrenaline coursing through her cleared away any sign of grogginess, but she wanted to proceed with caution. If it was someone with magic, she would have to gauge them appropriately. Since the sounds seemed to be coming from her living room, she gently put on her robe over her royal blue pajamas and teleported to her study, which was possibly as close as she could get before a fight would ensue. Any closer and the person might sense her magic nearby.

Her study was dark but thankfully she had left the door ajar and she could see light streaming in from the next room. What kind of burglar, or any enemy for that matter, turns on the light? It was still dim, but for a burglar who didn't care about turning on the lights to begin with she didn't see why they wouldn't turn them up all the way. She tried to think of what they could be searching for, spells, a potion, perhaps? It had to be something specific, the risk was too high. But what? There were too many questions, and she felt that she was wasting time. Her vision hadn't adjusted yet, and the luminance was still overwhelming her. She could see a hooded figure a few yards away and they seemed to be crouching near the center of the living room, beyond her couch. She was glad the furniture would allow for some cover but it also hindered her from seeing the criminal in question.

They looked thin, and it seemed like an odd place to look for something belonging to the evil queen. Her vault would be a better target, hell, the room she was in right now would make more sense, anywhere but her living room. The figure was turned away from her and they seemed to be looking towards the top of the table beneath the television, but all Regina could think of putting there were photographs. She could recall some of Henry when he was younger, and more of them together after the curse broke and he didn't hate her anymore. The pictures demonstrated their reconciliation now that she was actually able to build a relationship with her son, and he knew that she loved him. There might've even been one or two pictures where Henry's other mother made an appearance, out of chance or actual intention, and her place seemed right among those memories.

The burglar's face was turned, and Regina couldn't help but think that he was studying the pictures, studying his _targets_. If it was just her, she could deal with it, but she'd be damned if someone got to Henry or even—if she allowed herself to think it—Emma through her. Before she knew it a fireball had sprouted from her right hand, and she ran from her study directly towards the intruder with every intention of taking him out.

Except when said intruder heard movement from behind and whirled around to face her, Regina saw a flash of blonde and the very shade of green she thought she knew best. Yet…. this was different. The brilliant forest green belonged to her Emma—and she would have questioned how strange that possessive title was had it not been for the shock she was in—but at the same time she knew this individual was different. Regina's hand, which had been lifted and poised to throw a fireball was unmoving for a while before it fell to her side, flames extinguished.

Regina couldn't help but gawk at the figure in front of her wearing a somewhat tattered black hoodie along with her signature form fitting blue jeans, bearing some bruises over her body. There was a particularly harsh wound near her temple, and her face was framed with her usual golden locks, although those were different too. Emma's hair fell just above her shoulder in a wavy fashion, and if nothing else set off the alarms in her head, certainly this did. Emma was caught off guard herself but her expression was knowing, she stared back at Regina with a poise never before observed in the young blonde. She looked like she always did, but her eyes held a new story the mayor wasn't familiar with.

"Gina?"

The lack of movement from the brunette didn't surprise Emma, but a shy grin broke from the blonde's face when the only response she received was furrowed brows. Slowly, she moved to show her hands, palms up towards Regina, and spoke carefully.

"I'm sorry I scared you, but it's me." Still, no response from the brunette. She chose to continue. "I'm not going to hurt you… I am going to move now, very slowly towards you, alright?"

Regina still had not uttered a word, but Emma moved forward cautiously. Regina was stuck in place without knowing why. There was something off about this, she should summon another fireball, send this Emma flying backwards through her living room wall, but she couldn't or wouldn't. She watched the sheriff step around the couch and come closer to her until they were at arm's length, Emma's arms it seemed, because she was still holding her palms up as if to show Regina she didn't mean any harm.

She held that position for what felt like hours as if to establish her trustworthiness for the mayor. Her hands eventually fell to her sides, and the older woman could see if not sense the feeling of trepidation coming from the blonde. The moment continued to weigh heavily for the both of them before Emma, either due to her tiredness or lack of patience, lifted her right hand slowly, heading straight for an olive toned cheek.

The movement seemed to jolt Regina from her stupor, and the brunette's own hand shot up, fingers wrapping around the blonde's wrist. She held them there because her body hadn't caught up yet, but her words had. She just didn't know where to start. Emma tried to help once more by speaking again.

"I'm sorry, I just…" Regina could see her struggling to say something coherent, and somehow her own words came forth, though not exactly as she had planned in her mind.

"Your hair is short." Years spent learning to be a queen and ruling in the Enchanted Forest seemed to fly out the window with an idiotic statement like that. It seemed to hold some merit however, because Emma smiled and looked back at her questioningly. Their hands dropped and the blonde tried unsuccessfully to glimpse at the photos on the table before addressing Regina again.

"Yeah, do you like it?" Regina was amazed that Emma was still speaking to her as if nothing was strange about her appearance or behavior.

"Is that what you're concerned with, Miss Swan? You show up to my house in the middle of the night looking like you barely made it out of a bar brawl to see if I approve of your new haircut? You're ridiculous, even more so if you think you can waltz in here without explaining yourself."

"Regina, I—" Emma stepped forward again and her hand moved to wrap itself around the brunette's, but when Regina saw this her own hand shot up instinctually, magic ready, and Emma found herself pushed up against the wall behind her. A scream left her body and she fell to the ground in a heap clutching her midsection. Regina was horrified and ran forward, falling to her knees in front of the blonde.

"Emma, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!" She didn't know what to do with her hands; it's not as if she could hold the blonde. Even if she could, it worsen her injuries.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have startled you."

"Tell me what happened. Oh my goodness, where's Henry?"

"It's nothing. He's fine, he's with my parents. He's safe, everyone's safe, Gina."

"Why did you call me that? That's twice now."

Regina saw a flash of what looked like fear pass Emma's features, and she knew something else was going on.

"Everyone's safe Regina. That's what I meant."

"I heard you. And no, I think you meant to say what you said the first time. And how could everyone be safe when you're in this condition? Don't you dare lie to me, Miss Swan."

The younger woman was clearly annoyed and trying to look anywhere but the mayor, and Regina knew she had to take care of Emma's external condition before digging deeper. She sighed and grabbed Emma's hands in hers when she felt that familiar pull she could never describe but pushed down as usual, for fear of figuring out what it could be. She tugged the blonde's hands up gently to get her to stand. This surprised Emma but she continued to refrain from eye contact with the brunette.

"I'm not lying to you, Regina. Everyone's alright, and the way I look now has nothing to do with an epic magical fight or anything, okay?"

"What does it have to do with, then?"

"A normal, human fight that I definitely won. Nothing too dangerous, nothing that's ever going to be revisited."

"Fine."

"I swear I'm not—wait, really? Just… fine?" Her statement made her lock eyes with the brunette once more, and they found themselves almost stuck in place, neither having the desire to look away again.

"I'd love to argue further but we need to get you to a hospital."

"No, please. I'll be alright, could I just use your bathroom to clean myself up a bit?"

"You can, but you may have sustained injuries we can't see superficially. I need to take you to a hospital."

"Please trust me when I say I'm alright. Look, I'm sorry for barging in and scaring you to death, it just kind of happened." As she spoke their hands fell away from each other and Regina couldn't help but feel the absence. "I'll leave now, I hope you can get back to sleep quickly." She turned towards the door and she saw a cloud of purple before coming face to face with an angry Regina Mills once again.

"I'm not letting you go anywhere like this."

"I'll go to my parent's place, you don't need to worry."

"That head wound must be more severe than I thought, you're obviously not thinking this through."

"Excuse me?"

"You may not want to explain this to me but if you go to your parent's house you'll definitely have to explain to them and they'll be more pressing than me about getting you to an ER."

"I'll deal with it." There was that Swan look of defiance she knew so well and finally, the truth dawned on Regina. Emma moved to side step the older woman and move to the door but Regina's words stopped her.

"You're lying."

"I told you, I'm not. Promise."

"Not about the fight. You're not going to your parent's place at all. Where are you running to, Emma?"

The use of her first name made her pause as she was still facing the door and it certainly didn't help her growing anxiety over Regina's calculations. She took a breath, and she was careful about her response.

"I'm not running from you. I'm not running from anything."

"That's not what I meant."

Emma still hadn't turned around, and her gaze flickered down to the doorknob, wondering if Regina would stop her or materialize in front of her if she made a break for it. She smiled to herself, thinking of how ironic it would be if she literally ran away. Her thoughts were derailed when she felt warm fingers wrap around her wrist, and an almost imperceptible pull from the older woman behind her that served as a silent question. She groaned at how she reveled in the mayor's touch, and then realized that she'd actually made that sound out loud. She finally mustered up the courage to turn around, but Regina gave no indication that she'd even heard her. Emma knew that wasn't true, but she was thankful for Regina's subtlety. Emma couldn't help but lift her hand to thread their fingers together, and Regina didn't protest. This wasn't like her, her and Emma's relationship didn't veer into _this_ , but there were moments in Neverland, and even before that if Regina were willing to admit it, and things like this scared her but this was Emma and somehow things were complicated and weren't at the same time when the blonde was in the equation. So, she did the only thing she could do and lead the blonde by the hand to the bathroom upstairs.


End file.
